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Penticton news

West Kelowna singer named best new artist at Indigenous Music Awards

WEST KELOWNA - A local First Nation singer and songwriter has won Best New Artist at the Indigenous Music Awards in Winnipeg. Kelly Margaret Derrickson, daughter of Grand Chief Ron Derrickson, beat out five other artists for the prestigious award on Friday, Sept. 11. Her debut album, Warriors of Love, was released in 2013 and...

Locals winners named for Aboriginal Business Awards

THOMPSON-OKANGAN - Some local aboriginal entrepreneurs are coming away from the B.C. Aboriginal Business Awards with wins this week. Troy Fraser Chiropractic of Kamloops has won Business of the Year in the one to two person enterprise category. Skyride Bike and Board Inc. of Vernon has won an outstanding achievement award for companies with three...

UPDATE: Owner reunited with artificial leg found on Penticton street

UPDATE: 3:20 P.M., SEPT. 15, 2015 The owner of the prosthetic leg found on Lakeshore Drive over the weekend has been found, Penticton RCMP report. Penticton City bylaw officers called the detachment to say they knew the owner of the leg, Penticton RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Don Wrigglesworth says in a press release. The woman had...

Snow on the Okanagan Connector

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Drivers heading out on the highway should be prepared for a bit of snow at the higher elevations this morning. Drive B.C. is showing snow at several of the higher Okanagan elevations and temperatures are currently sitting around 0 Celsius. At the Coquihalla Summit it is currently raining and temperatures are sitting around...

Water drilling rush in B.C. Interior to get jump on new water regulations

IMPACT UNKNOWN THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Companies drilling water wells in the B.C. Southern Interior appear to be busier than usual and the reason may be the introduction next spring of the provincial Water Sustainability Act and its new well licensing requirements. While hard numbers of how many wells are being drilled are hard to come by...

Penticton woman pleads guilty to impaired charge, driving while disqualified

PENTICTON - A Penticton woman is not to get behind the wheel for two years following a plea of guilty to a charge of impaired driving and driving while disqualified in Penticton court this morning, Sept. 14. Crown Prosecutor Kurt Froelich told court Leisha Blais was driving home from a Narcotics Anonymous meeting at a...

Penticton’s Skaha Lake dragon boat central on weekend

PENTICTON - The Skaha Lake shoreline was a busy place this weekend in Penticton, as the city welcomed thousands to the 15th annual running of the Penticton Dragon Boat Festival. “It was a great festival, probably one of our best,” Race Director Don Mulhall says. “Everything ran perfectly, races were on time, there were no...

Return to seasonal normals in the Okanagan

OKANAGAN - The mercury soared heading into the weekend, but has dropped considerably coming out of it. Temperatures were in the high-20s Friday and Saturday, well above seasonal normal highs of 20 Celsius. Sunday things cooled off to highs of 23 C in the North and Central Okanagan, but at 27 C remained quite a...

ELECTION 2015: Harper makes promises during Penticton pit shop

PENTICTON - Stephen Harper’s campaign bus didn’t just stop at the door of Nor Mar Industries’ Brutus Truck Bodies shop — it drove right inside as Harper made a grand entrance to several hundred of the party faithful just after 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 13. The event, which was quietly announced to members of the...

ELECTION 2015: Prime Minister’s Penticton campaign stop confirmed

PENTICTON – Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s campaign machine rolls into Penticton today. The Conservative leader will be holding two photo opportunities for the media, Sept. 13, at unconfirmed locations. At 6:15 p.m., Harper will be joined by South Okanagan-West Kootenay Conservative candidate Marshall Neufeld at Brutus Truck Bodies at 682 Okanagan Ave. East to “deliver remarks,”...

Why vaccinating 71 per cent of 7-year-olds in southern Interior should have you worried

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - To prevent a measles outbreak, 95 per cent of the population is required to be vaccinated, but the province’s southern Interior isn’t meeting that requirement with only 71 per cent of seven-year-olds vaccinated between 2012 and 2014. With the latest school year comes the annual round of vaccinations and kids will bring reminders...

Host team takes a beating in game two of Canucks Young Stars Tournament

PENTICTON - Hockey season got underway in Penticton as the Canucks Young Stars Classic hockey tournament began at Penticton’s South Okanagan Events Centre last night. The rookies from the Vancouver Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers squared off, Sept. 11, following game one earlier in the day, which pitted Calgary against Winnipeg. A capacity crowd was...

Put your best paw forward this weekend and help stop animal abuse

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – This weekend thousands of animal lovers from across the Thompson-Okanagan will help stop animal abuse simply by walking their dogs. For more than a decade, residents of cities across the province have laced up their sneakers for the Scotiabank and BCSPCA Paws for a Cause Walk. Manager of the Kelowna SPCA Suzanne Pugh...

Thousands of Thompson-Okanagan renters mired in affordable housing crisis, new index says

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - About a quarter of all renters in the Thompson-Okanagan are facing an affordable housing crisis, according to a new study. The new Canadian Rental Housing Index is an interactive map which offers a snapshot of rental housing conditions across the country. You can search by city or electoral area riding, and find the...

ELECTION 2015: Stephen Harper tentatively scheduled to visit Penticton

PENTICTON - Conservative leader Stephen Harper could be making a stop in Penticton this weekend. There are tentative plans for Harper to arrive Sunday, Sept. 13, for a 5:45 p.m. rally at a location still to be disclosed, according to an invitation sent out to party faithful. Plans are also in the works for Harper...

Near-record heat this weekend in the Okanagan

OKANAGAN - After a week of near-normal high temperatures the mercury is expected to again hit the 30 Celsius mark throughout the region this weekend. Environment Canada is calling for highs of 29 C and 30 C today, Sept. 11, and Saturday throughout the Okanagan, well above the seasonal normal high of 21 C. The...

Penticton plays host to hockey, jazz and dragon boats this weekend

PENTICTON - The Penticton entertainment scene is ramping up for the coming weekend, filling the city with a mix of music, dragon boats and National Hockey League prospects. “There is not a room to be had,” Penticton Hospitality Association President Robert Appelman says. “I know the various organizations have been trying to get rooms, but...

Etsy craft market coming to Kelowna

KELOWNA - For the second year in a row, Kelowna crafters can get their Etsy fix in real life, instead of through a computer. On Sept. 26, Etsy: Made in Canada will be at Sandhill Winery for a free crafters market featuring handmade items from more than 30 Canadian artisans. Last year roughly 3,000 people...

SNELSON TRIAL: Killer’s sentence depends on finding of sexual assault argument

KAMLOOPS —It’s been almost 22 years since the night Neil Snelson killed college student Jennifer Cusworth after a party in Kelowna in 1993 and now Cusworth's family has one week left to find out how long he'll spend in prison. The 19-year-old Cusworth was found dead in a ditch on Swamp Road in Kelowna in...

New murder charge laid in connection with Vernon death

VERNON - Police have arrested a third person for murder in connection with the death of 42-year-old Jason Hardy, whose body was found in Polson Park Aug. 26. Tal Kalum La Riviere, 28, from Greater Vernon, was arrested in Kamloops Sept. 9 and charged with one count of second degree murder. He was scheduled to...

Man wanted on Canada-wide warrant picked up in Oliver

PENTICTON - A man wanted on a Canada-wide warrant is now in police custody following an arrest by Penticton RCMP Drug Task Force and Oliver RCMP members this week. Marcus Wilfred Sheena was apprehended on Sept. 9 for breaching conditions of a two-year sentence for a violent assault four years ago. Sheena and a female...